By Proxy
by finem
Summary: [REVISED]There's more to Sora's illness than meets the eye, but will Riku figure out the cause before it's too late?[RS]
1. Chapter 1

**Standard Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the exclusive property of Disney Square-Enix. This work of fiction is created for entertainment purposes only and will in no way earn a profit for its creator or any other

**Notes: **I don't really know what to say about this story… It's interesting. Guess that should be enough.

**Warnings:** Sick people…

-:-finem-:-

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**By Proxy**

There they were again, Sora climbing out of his mother's car a little shakily as his mom got out to give him a loving hug and tender kiss to the cheek. She looked at him, checked his forehead for fever and seemed to be asking him if he was feeling ok. Sora of course smiled and nodded as he stepped away.

He was looking paler than usual.

It had been a few weeks since the funeral of Sora's father, and both he and Aerith seemed to be doing well enough, but Riku couldn't help but notice that his best friend just hadn't seemed well since. Aerith was ever the supportive mother, and everyone admired her strength in the face of losing her husband and being left to raise her son on her own, but Sora seemed to have been broken by the loss. His smiles were as bright as he could make them, and the same love and life shone in his eyes that always had, but he had become physically ill after his father's death as if his body was expressing the suffering he felt inside. It was painful to watch for everyone who knew the Gainsboroughs. They were such a loving family. No one deserved that kind of suffering, let alone such gentle people.

Sora made his way slowly over to where Riku and Kairi were waiting for him, smiling at them despite how tired and weak he looked.

"How are you feeling today, Sora?" Kairi asked, walking over and dropping a kiss on his cheek as she hugged him in greeting.

"Crappy as usual," he said with a wan smile. "I was up half the night puking again. I can't figure out why my stomach just can't seem to handle anything solid anymore. This is getting really old really fast."

"Maybe it's some kind of food allergy?" Riku suggested lamely as they headed into the school. "Have you started eating anything that you haven't normally eaten in the past few weeks?"

"No," Sora said scratching his head. "Unless mom's started changing her recipes on me, and I think she'd tell me if she had."

"How has Aerith been holding up?" Kairi asked at the mention of Sora's mother.

"Oh, mom's doing great," Sora smiled. "I'm so proud of her. She's got a lot of friends looking out for her. Cloud and Uncle Leon have been over for the past few nights to check in on her, and Rinoa and Lulu are planning a ladies day this weekend so I'll probably be at your place tomorrow night Riku." Riku smirked at his friend.

"Meaning that I get to slaughter you at Tekken again."

"Or try, you mean," Sora shot back at him.

"More like I'll be there to wipe the floor with both of you," Kairi piped in and they all burst into laughter. Kairi's button mashing skills were legendary as she somehow always managed to do more damage to herself than her enemy.

They walked into their homeroom and greeted the rest of their friends before class got underway. Tidus dashed in, late as usual about five seconds before the bell rang and collapsed in relief when their Math teacher, Mr. Luxord, congratulated him on not receiving detention for the first time that week. The class laughed as he thanked their teacher profusely and then class began. Homework was checked, more assignments were given…it was a normal day at Hollow Bastion High.

The bell for lunch rang at exactly twelve o'clock sharp, and students made their way out of class, some carrying lunch bags, others heading to food lines to buy something to eat. Sora, Riku and Kairi ate under a large beech tree a small distance away from the school's cafeteria along with several of their other friends. It was a routine that the group had settled into since almost the first day of school.

Axel and Demyx were always the first at the tree. As seniors, they could get to the front of the lines most easily, and they always made sure to use this ability at any given chance. Next usually came either the juniors, Riku and Wakka, who had AP English together during fourth period, or sophomores Roxas, Pence and Naminé who often escaped from their art class early. Sora, Tidus and Hayner would always come later since their science class was on the opposite side of campus and Selphie, Kairi and Olette would always come last since they had to shower after their P.E. class.

The space around the tree was usually busy as the large group broke into smaller groups, the more energetic of them bouncing from cluster to cluster as everyone laughed and talked together. Riku always claimed the side of the tree facing away from the school, saving space for Sora and Kairi while he joked with Wakka and listened to the ever-present bickering of Axel and Roxas, the easy laughter from Demyx. It was a normal routine, and Riku was relieved to find that at least lunchtime was still business as usual as everyone showed up in the order that they always did.

"So what've you got to put all of our lunches to shame today, Sora?" Tidus asked, craning his neck to see into Sora's lunch bag as he plopped on the grass next to Wakka. Aerith took good care of her son and made sure to send him to school with delicious and balanced lunches. Tidus often made a point of checking out the "competition" so to speak, enviously wishing someone at his house could cook so well.

Sora settled in his space beside Riku with uncommon care and smiled a little sheepishly. "My mom just gave me soup today since my stomach's been all weird lately," he said with a small shrug. "Works for me. Kinda kills your appetite when whatever you eat comes back up for a repeat performance."

Those who heard the comment chuckled lightly for him, but they all could feel the tension in the air afterwards. The group of friends didn't talk about it much but everyone was worried about Sora's health. It was so strange to not see him bouncing all over the place. Everything about him seemed to be changing, like the life and energy were being steadily drained out of him.

They continued chatting about their plans for the weekend and what projects they had and other innocuous topics, Sora sipping his soup while the others munched on sandwiches or fries or other things bought from the school. The bell rang and they all stood, Riku moving to Sora's side as they had History together next period.

"Anyone who wants to meet up to head to my place later, meet here after school, ok?" Kairi called to the group at large. This was another part of their routine. One person would invite people over after school and whoever was available would go and they would spend hours goofing off and doing homework together. There was a chorus of grunts of agreements and okays as they broke up and headed to their separate classes. Most of them did notice, however, that Sora was not one of those intending to go which was becoming more and more common.

Riku watched Sora carefully as they made their way through the post-lunch crowd; watched as the color again faded from his sun-kissed skin. All through morning classes he seemed fine, a hint of his usual warm glow returning to his cheeks. Now his skin seemed pasty and gray even in the afternoon light, and Riku noticed a slight tremor in his hands as they held his books.

"You doing ok," he asked in concern, and Sora looked up at him with confused, slightly glassy eyes.

"I don't know," he whispered stumbling towards their classroom door. "I felt fine before lunch. I don't know why I can't eat anything." His legs seemed to give out as he put a hand out to open the door, and Riku was at his side immediately.

"Somebody get the nurse!" he called out urgently as he cradled a trembling Sora in his arms.

"Riku," he croaked out weakly, "I'm gonna be sick."

Riku snapped for someone to bring him a trashcan. A small waste basket was hastily shove into his out stretched hands and he managed to get Sora situated into a position that allowed Riku to support him while his head hung over the can. Sora just lay there trembling for a moment before his entire body seemed to clench. There was only liquid in his stomach from the soup, and what little there was splashed messily into the waste bin.

Sora clutched at Riku's arm as he heaved over and over again, stomach contracting painfully though there was nothing in him to expel. Tears were streaming from his face as he heaved again, thick, pale-green bile coating his tongue as he gagged and tried to spit the vile substance out of his mouth.

He was trembling all over, too weak to do anything other than lay there in Riku's arms as silent tears of pain and frustration slid down his face, mixing with the saliva and other fluids that it felt like he was covered in by now. He could feel his heart racing madly in his chest, the world coming in and out of focus as he tried to fight back the panic that was threatening to make him lose all control.

Somewhere in there, the school nurse had arrived. All spectators had been shooed off into their classes and only Riku remained, still holding Sora as the nurse tried to talk to him. Nothing got through. The only sound Sora was aware of for a long time was a dull ringing in his ears. He was aware of someone using something cold and wet to clean his face, and then being carefully lifted by strong arms. He came to his senses long enough to realize they were heading to the nurses office, and when he was lain onto the bed, he just curled up on his side willing the pain in his abdomen to go away.

"Sora, honey," The nurse said putting a hand to his clammy forehead. "We went ahead and called your mom. She'll be here to take you home in a little bit. Alright?" Sora nodded, that alone taking more energy than he felt he had. The nurse left him to go over to her desk, and Riku pulled up a chair next to him while they waited for Aerith together. They sat in silence for a long time, a lone tear escaping Sora's eye as another wave of discomfort passed through him.

"What's wrong with me, Riku?" he asked at length, voice weak and shaking. He didn't want to look so pathetic in front of his friend, but he needed to talk to someone about this. It had been weighing on him for the past few weeks, ever since his father passed.

"I hate feeling this way. It's like my own body has turned against me. What if there's really something wrong? What if it's bad? What if I'm—"

"Don't," Riku said halting the last sentence. "Don't even think it Sora. You're going to be fine. You're mother is a nurse for Christ's sake. She would know if there was something seriously wrong with you." He said this fiercely, making sure that Sora knew how serious he was. "Don't you dare think that way again."

"I know Riku," he said swallowing thickly, "I just wish I understood what's going on. I'm so tired of feeling so weak. It hurts to do everything now. Just getting up in the morning takes _so_ much effort, and every time I think I'm finally starting to get better, it happens again!" Riku was struggling to figure out how to reply when Aerith rushed into the room and hurried quickly to Sora's side.

"Oh, honey, I came as fast as I could," she said leaning over him, running her fingers through his bangs lightly as she kissed his forehead. "Come on, let mama take you back to the hospital. Obviously they're just not looking hard enough if they haven't figured out what's wrong yet."

"But mom," Sora protested as she helped him to a sitting position with a little assistance from Riku. "We've already been there three times and they always tell us the same thing." He inwardly cringed at the idea of more tests and samples being taken from him. Sora was really beginning to hate the hospital.

"Well then I want a second opinion, and third and fourth if that's what it takes. Anything is worth it for my Pooh bear."

"Mooooom," Sora whined and Riku chuckled. Sora never liked it when his mom called him that in public but the fact that he had the strength to complain hopefully meant that he was feeling a little better. Riku walked with them out to the car helping to support Sora in case he needed it as Aerith thanked the school nurse and even swung by the main office to let them know she was taking Sora home. The two friends shared an amused look and Riku waved them off as their car drove away.

-:- -:- -:-

Sora wasn't in class the next day, a point of great concern for his friends. Word of what had happened was all over the school, and lunch was a somewhat grim affair for the group as they sat around in the conspicuous absence of one of their family.

"This sucks," Roxas grumbled from his place on the ground between Axel and Demyx. "Has anyone talked to him since yesterday?"

"I called his house last night," Kairi said, "Aerith told me that he was resting and that it would be best that we not visit until the weekend at least."

"I called, too," Selphie offered. "Got the same response."

"So what, we just wait?" Hayner asked frustration clear in his voice, "Don't we get to find out what the doctors said?"

"Sora will probably tell us when he comes back to school," Olette offered, "and we can visit him when his mom says it's ok, but otherwise, there really isn't much else we can do."

The group sat in uncomfortable silence for a while until Demxy broke the tension with some inane comment about something or other, and they all fell into conversations that had nothing to do with their ailing friend. Still, the cloud of gloom never quite lifted from over their heads.


	2. Chapter 2

**Standard Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the exclusive property of Disney Square-Enix. This work of fiction is created for entertainment purposes only and will in no way earn a profit for its creator or any other

**Notes:** Part 2! More fluff for your random…

**Warnings:** Sick people…

-:-finem-:-

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**By Proxy**

**.II.**

Riku went home immediately after school, not feeling much up to spending time with any of the others. Flopping onto his bed, he lay down to think for a bit. He was still very worried about Sora and was thinking to go visit him, even if Aerith didn't want him to have any visitors. It just didn't feel right not being able to see his best friend…he'd looked so weak and tired when they had parted the day before, but then again, it's not like that was anything new; not in the past few weeks anyway.

Riku hated everything about the situation. He missed Sora. He missed videogame nights and spontaneous visits. He missed doing homework together, napping in the early afternoon until one of their parents or uncles came to wake them for dinner. Sora was more than just a friend, deeper than family, and Riku was now getting a taste of what life would be like without Sora in it. The very thought of it made his heart clench painfully in his chest.

None of them spoke it aloud, but Riku was sure that the others had thought of the possibility of things being really wrong; of Sora being _really _sick. It's funny that it had been Sora himself who voiced the thought, and it was quietly terrifying, like standing at the ledge of a skyscraper on a windy day. You could closes your eyes and pretend like you were safe somewhere else, but your mind knows, your heart knows, and there's always a part of you shuddering at the possibility of a fall.

Riku hadn't even realized that he had fallen into a doze until the sound of the doorbell woke him. He groaned a little, rolling to his side to look at the clock next to his bed and saw that it was just after sic o'clock. He hurried down the stairs as the bell rang again and pulled the door open, staring in surprise as he was greeted by a smiling Sora and Aerith waiting there, Sora looking better than he had in weeks, bouncing on his toes excitedly.

"Mom was gonna cancel her trip," Sora began, offering explanation in the face of Riku's shock, "but she said that if I was feeling better by tonight I could still come and she could still go, and I feel way better!"

"So here, he is," Aerith finished just as Sephiroth came from his study to see who was at the door.

"Thank you, Seph, for agreeing to watch him this weekend," she said smiling sweetly at the silver-haired man.

"Sora is always welcome here," he told her, and Riku wondered at the strange look his father sent her as he spoke.

Aerith was not perturbed in the least by this, however, and turned to pull Sora into a hug. "Now remember to eat your soup, and call my cell if you start feeling bad again," she said. "I'll come home right away if you need me, ok baby?"

"Alright, mom. I get it," Sora said blushing at the coddling. Aerith smiled warmly at him, stroking her fingers through his hair before planting a kiss on his forehead and pulling him into another hug.

"I love you, Pooh bear," she told him.

"Love you too, mom," Sora returned, and then she was out the house walking back down the street.

Sora rolled his eyes as he turned to Riku smiling.

"The way she's acting, you'd think I was going off to war or something," he said adjusting his overnight bag on his shoulder.

"Well you are her little Poopykins," Riku cooed, pinching at Sora's cheeks as if he were a baby. In reality, he was still a little amazed at having his friend standing there in front of him and felt the need to touch; to make sure that he was real. Sora literally looked better than he had in ages. It was almost as if there had never been anything to worry about, and in the wake of the more morbid thoughts that had been bouncing around his head before, it was like fresh air in a overcrowded room. Riku felt like he was able to breath properly for the first time in over a month.

Sora smacked his hand away laughing, and Riku smiled back, ruffling those crazy cinnamon spikes before pulling Sora into a rough hug.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," he said stepping back to look his friend over once more.

"Yeah," Sora replied smiling, a hint of color touching his cheeks. "I'm not exactly complaining about it myself."

"Are you hungry at all, Sora?" Sephiroth asked speaking up as he walked towards their kitchen. "We have some of our evening meal left, or you two may order out if you would like."

Sora open his mouth to reply, but then hesitated a moment. "Mom says I should probably not eat anything not homemade until we get my stomach figured out," he mumbled.

"And how's she ever going to know?" Riku asked nudging him in the side, missing the slight narrowing of his father's eyes at the comment. Now that Sora was there, Riku fully planned to take full advantage and make the most of their evening. Even if it didn't last, even if Sora did get sick again in the morning or the following week, he at least wanted that night to be like old times. What would a little junk food hurt?

"Well…" Sora began, gnawing his lip, clearly debating pros and cons in his head, "it has been a long time since I had a Ragnarok pizza!"

"Extra sausage, extra cheese!" Riku called, bursting into a huge smile and running for the phone.

"Don't forget the 'shrooms!" Sora cried dashing after him.

Sephiroth stood staring, watching the retreating boys, a disturbing suspicion growing in the back of his mind. He walked over to Sora's abandoned overnight bag and removed the thermos of soup his mother had left with him.

-:- -:- -:-

So, somehow the phone call for pizza turned into a phone call to Kairi which turned into a phone call to Selphie, and before the night was done, their entire group of friends had descended upon Riku's house to spend the evening with an apparently better Sora. The boy's appetite was back in full force without a hint of nausea or stomach pain other than the usual caused from eating one too many peanut butter covered Oreo in a ten-minute span, and for once, things were finally looking like they would be returning to normal.

Riku was amazed at how much lighter he felt in the presence of Sora's returned health. As his friend had fallen deeper and deeper into his illness, it felt, to Riku, like he too was being dragged down into a deep darkness without the light of Sora's smile around to bring him out. Now it was back, and it seemed like Sora, by himself, could light up the entire world. He watched in simple contentment as Sora chased Selphie around with a can of cheese wiz, completely unsuspecting of the trap Hayner, Pence and Roxas were laying for him.

"It's good to have him back, ya?" Wakka said, joining him from his vantage point on the stairs above the living room.

"Yeah, it is." Riku told him, an odd warmth filling his chest as he watched his the scene below. "I can't even say how good. It's funny, y'know," he started, falling a bit into his own thoughts as he spoke, "people die all of the time, but you never really feel it or think about it until it happens to someone close to you. Then suddenly it's so real…you can't help but think about how you would react to losing someone important to you, too."

"Riku! Man! What the hell are you talking about?!" Axel's voice came from behind him suddenly and he felt his hot hands on his shoulders kneading lightly. "No one's gonna die around here any time soon. Just look at the little squirt," Axel indicated Sora who was howling in surprise as his bare feet made contact with the plastic spiky underside of the floor runner his friends had flipped and placed in his path. Axel snickered as Riku frowned a little at the trick.

"Sora's gonna be fine, Riku," he said standing and descending the stairs, "You, on the other hand, have got it bad." Axel didn't expand on the comment, casually sauntering over to grab Roxas by the back of the pants, earning a smack on the arm for his efforts but not letting go as he dragged the smaller boy off. Riku looked over at Wakka, brows creased in confusion.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Wakka just shrugged, and they both got up to break up the small wrestling match that had started downstairs before something got broken.

It was around eleven by the time everyone had gone home leaving a peaceful silence after all of the insanity. Riku and Sora were sprawled on Riku's bed, Riku playing on his PSP while Sora lay thinking quietly, his head using his Riku's stomach as a pillow.

"I'm so glad I felt better today," he sighed happily. "I haven't had this much fun since…" He trailed off and Riku paused his game looking down at his friend a little worried. The running theory about Sora's illness was that his body was responding to the shock of his father's death, somatizing his emotional stress into a physical ailment. As the doctors couldn't find a cause for it, that seemed to be the most logical explanation. Riku hadn't really had a chance to speak with Sora about how he was handling the loss and really didn't know how to broach the subject anyway. This was the first time Sora had ever brought it up on his own.

"I miss him," he said quietly. Riku lay still, just listening "I still don't think it's really sunk in that I'm never going to see him again. The next father/son camping trip, I won't have anyone to go with. Mom will always be the only person home when I get back from fencing practice. I won't ever hear him screaming at the TV during basketball games, or get to help him barbeque in the summer or…" his voice broke and he just stopped speaking for a while. Riku could feel him trembling and knew that the he was crying.

Setting his game aside, Riku reached down and wrapped his friend in a slightly awkward embrace. Sora adjusted himself so that he was laying next to Riku on the bed and didn't protest when Riku held him tightly, gently rubbing his arm as the tears flowed.

"You'll make it through this, Sora," Riku murmured, not really sure what else to say. His heart was breaking for his friend, but there was nothing he could really do for him. It was something that Sora would have to work out on his own, but Riku knew that if there was anything he could do to ease the loneliness, make the pain just a little more bearable, he would do it. Sora was his best friend, and seeing him in pain cut into Riku's heart deeply. "I'll always be here when you need me," he murmured softly into the thick brown hair radiating heat just under his chin. Riku wasn't sure where the words had come from, but they were true, and felt right. Sora nodded, accepting the sentiment as he lay there and curled a little more into Riku's warmth. They stayed like that in silence for a long time.

-:- -:- -:-

Saturday was a lazy day. Sephiroth had left early to go to one of his offices for something or other leaving Riku and Sora to their own devices. The two boys sat around not doing much of anything for the better part of the morning before going out to meet up with some of the others to wander the mall in the afternoon. Sora was practically back to his old self. There was still a shadow in his eyes that would probably be there for a very long time still, but his smiles were full watt again and he was just as energetic as he had ever been. It was a relief to have the old Sora back and they all made the most of it for the whole weekend taking heart from his complete lack of symptoms.

Riku found that he was becoming aware of his friend in ways that he had never thought of before. Maybe it was the thought of death that seemed to persistently hang over his thoughts lately, or maybe it was the moment of vulnerability that they shared the night before, but something had changed the way that Riku looked at this friend. It was suddenly so important that Sora be happy and well. Riku felt a burning need to protect him, like at any moment Sora would be snatched away.

Sora and Roxas sat across from him with their food from the food court followed shortly by Kairi and Selphie. They ate together, laughing and talking, Riku occasionally chucking a fry into Sora's fried rice just to see the affronted pout that would form on his lips. Riku would always laugh at him, and Sora would return with a smirk, which promised retribution that would actually never come. The warmth filled Riku again. He would never get tired of his friend's expressive lips. He would never get tired of Sora.

It was a strange realization for Riku when he began to understand that he might want something more from his relationship with his best friend. Just, the idea of losing Sora forever had alerted Riku to just how much the smaller boy meant to him, and now…there were so many strange emotions swirling through him whenever he looked at Sora.

They laid together on Riku's bed again that night, Sora falling asleep with his head pillowed on Riku's stomach, and Riku lost in his own world of thoughts as he enjoyed the closeness and warmth of Sora's body. He drifted off like that, contemplating what he would do about these newfound emotions, pulling Sora up to lay beside him properly as he reveled in the life radiating from the brunet's body.

-:- -:- -:-

Sunday was just as lazy as Saturday but less light hearted as both Riku and Sora knew that Sora's mom would be there some time in the early afternoon to pick him up. They had slept in until a little past eleven, waking up curled into each other. Neither said anything about it, though Riku didn't miss the light blush on Sora's cheeks, and Sora didn't miss the affectionate smile on Riku's lips. Apparently Sora was noticing the change as well.

Aerith showed up just as the boys were finishing lunch, Sephiroth setting aside his coffee to answer the door while Sora and Riku threw their trash away and cleaned their dishes.

"Hi, sweetie!" Aerith said wrapping Sora in a tight hug when he came to greet her. "I missed you so much!

"Hey mom," he greeted with a smile. "It wasn't even two days," he rolled his eyes and she chuckled. "You look rested."

"And so do you," she said beaming at him. "I knew mommy's soup would do the trick!"

"Oh! Right…" Sora said looking a little sheepish, but then his expression became really excited. "It's great mom, I don't think I need it anymore! I feel awesome!" Aerith's eyebrows furrowed a little at this.

"Well you defiantly do look and sound a lot better, but your eyes still look tired, honey. You've been overdoing it haven't you? I'll give you the last of the soup tonight for dinner and that should take care of any lingering symptoms."

"I think the boy looks quite fine," Sephiroth said stepping into the room, and a wave of ice seemed to follow him. "It's been a while since we've had Sora over for so long. Why don't you let him spent one more night? I'd be happy to see them both to school in the morning."

Sora perked up immediately at this. "Mom, can I?!" he asked excitedly, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet.

"I don't think that's such a good idea honey. I want to make sure you're rested for the week. We wouldn't want you to relapse." Aerith said mussing Sora's hair lovingly. Sora's face fell at this, but how could he really be sad in the face of such obvious affection. His mom was just worried about him, and he'd see Riku at school the next day anyway.

"I rather insist he stay," Sephiroth returned, and Riku and Sora both eyed their parents in confusion, as the windows in the room almost seemed to frost over with the cold looks flying overhead. Aerith's smile only faltered slightly as she tilted her head to the side just so.

"Perhaps we should have a private word," she said, a sudden edge in her voice. Sora's eyes widened as his mother and Riku's father left the room.

"What the hell was that about?" Riku asked looking towards where their parents had disappeared. Sora just shrugged, plopping down on the couch and turning on the TV while they waited for their parents to finish talking. It didn't take long. About three minutes after they had vanished, Aerith came stomping back into the living room.

"Sora, grab your things, we're leaving."

"Mom?" Sora asked in concern as he got to his feet.

"Mommy's fine honey, we just have to go. Say goodbye to Riku." Still confused, Sora turned questioning eyes to his friend.

"See you tomorrow?" he said just to have something to say.

"Right," Riku replied, just as confused. Sora and Aerith exited, leaving the house disturbingly quiet in their wake.

"I want you to go visit Sora," Riku nearly jumped out of his skin as his father seemed to appear out of thin air beside him. "Make some excuse that she won't be able to refuse. Don't let her turn you away. Take some food with you. If you see him eating anything not packaged, convince him to throw it away. I don't want him consuming anything that woman has prepared for him until I'm absolutely certain nothing is amiss."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Riku asked completely confused now and more than a little alarmed.

"I have a suspicion, but it cannot be verified until sometime tomorrow afternoon." Sephiroth moved towards the door, grabbing his jacket and reaching for the keys to his car. "I am going downtown to speak with Auron and find out what immediate action can be taken without solid evidence. I will also be going to the laboratory where the soup sample is being analyzed to see if I can hasten the process there. Take your cell phone. Call me immediately if anything happens." Sephiroth opened the door preparing to step out then paused looking back at his son. "Be cautious, Riku. I do not trust that woman any longer." And with that, he was gone.

Riku stood frozen where he was, trying to comprehend everything that had just happened. Based on what his father said, he could figure out what Sephiroth was thinking, but Riku couldn't bring himself to believe it was even possible. He had grown up with the Gainsboroughs. Aerith was like a mother to him. After all the time they had spent together, he just refused to believe what his dad was implying.

Looking at the clock he saw that it was already almost 1pm. He didn't believe what his dad had said, but if it was even possible that Sora was in danger, he needed to get over there and run interference, asap.

Grabbing his cell phone and stuffing his pockets with random stuff from the kitchen he headed out the house closing the door behind him and working out a story in his head. Five minutes later he was standing in front of the Gainsborough home plastering his most self-deprecating smile of his face. Sora opened the door and his face immediately fell into confusion.

"Riku?" he asked. "What are you doing here, I literally just left your house."

"Yeah, I know. My dad went freakishly weird after you guys left. Grabbed the keys and took off in the car. I followed him trying to find out what was up but he wouldn't listen, and when I tried to get back in the house the door was locked…I don't have my keys." He looked down at his sock clad feet indicating them as proof of his lack of preparedness. Sora let him in with a laugh.

"That's hot Riku," he teased. "Especially that sexy hole above your big toe."

"Hey, it's not fair mocking a man with no shoes," Riku growled entering the house and closing the door behind him.

"Good thing I don't see any men around here other than me," Sora shot back as they headed to his room.

"Sora, honey. Who's that?" Aerith's head popped into the room out of the kitchen.

"Just Riku, mom," he said smiling. "We're gonna head up to my room." Sora was already half way up the stairs so he didn't catch the subtle hardening of his mother's eyes. Riku had, and he was suddenly not so sure about the absurdity of his dad's theory.

-:- -:- -:-

**A/N:**

There's something oddly amusing to me about the idea of Sephiroth and Aerith having glaring contests over their kids' heads. XD


	3. Chapter 3

**Standard Disclaimer: **KH not mine

**Notes:** Ugh…my head hurts…

**Warnings:** Sick people…

-:-finem-:-

-- -- -- -:- -- -- --

**By Proxy**

**.III.**

About an hour and a half after Riku arrived, both boys were laying lazily in Sora's room staring off into space as music blasted from Sora's stereo. Riku was relieved that so far he hadn't had to block any food consumption as they were munching on some of the beef jerky he had brought. No…everything was going quite smoothly except for the fact that there was absolutely _nothing_ to do.

"Sora, I'm bored," Riku said from his place on the floor.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Sora replied. "There's a reason we always go to your house to do stuff. Money's been tight these past few weeks between dad and then me being sick…"

"But you're supposed to be the creative genius, here. Entertain me, damn it!" Riku was quick to make light of the situation, not wanting to turn their comfortable silence awkward.

"And exactly how am I supposed to do that?" Sora asked, rolling to look down at him from the edge of his bed.

"Oh, I don't know," Riku all but purred. "I'm sure you could think of…something." What was it Riku had been trying to avoid? Something about awkward silences? Well, he realized too late that the slightly teasing, slightly serious comment was definitely not the way to go about doing that. Sora stared at him a little shocked at the clearly suggestive comment before rolling back to lay on his bed again.

Riku scrambled up, heart pounding as he realized that he might have really just screwed up. Sora's back was to him now as he curled into the wall. Riku could see that the smaller boy's shoulders were shaking. Was he really so upset by the comment that he was crying now?

"God, I'm such and idiot," Riku growled at himself as he reached out to his friend. "Sora, I'm sorry. I was totally jok—" he froze when Sora rolled on his back, tears streaming from his eyes as he…struggled valiantly to keep his laughter in check. "You must be shitting me."

That was apparently the last straw. Sora closed his eyes, rolling back and forth on his bed as loud guffaws burst from his chest. Riku glared down at him trying to figure out what the big joke was. After a few looong minutes, Sora seemed to finally calm down.

"Sorry," he gasped, a huge grin still splitting his face, "but that has got to be the funniest one-liner you've ever delivered! Your voice," (chuckle) "and then your _face!_" (chuckle chuckle) "Oh man!" And then he was rolling again.

"Well I'm so glad to be a source of entertainment," Riku growled down at his friend. "At least one of us is having a good time."

"Oh, come on Riku, don't be like that," Sora said looking up at his friend as he finally calmed down. His hair was tussled, shirt hiked up to reveal a couple of inches of stomach, cheeks flushed from his laughter…Riku found that he was suddenly not so bored anymore and could think of a few things he wouldn't mind doing to occupy them both.

"Well…I guess I can forgive you," he said, crossing his arms and smirking to himself. "But don't think you can get away with not entertaining me now!" and without any warning, he pounced on Sora, fingers flying down to tickle his sides. Sora was laughing again, struggling desperately to get Riku off of him. With a buck and a shove he did manage to roll Riku off the bed, but unfortunately, the older boy was holding on to him quite firmly and they both ended up going over the edge.

Riku released a loud 'oof' as his back hit the floor and Sora landed on top of him. They both lay that way for a moment chuckling and gasping, faces inches apart, breath mingling as they slowly mellowed.

"Your breath smells," Riku said softly, eyes focused on Sora's mouth.

"Yeah, well so does yours," Sora said, and it seemed as though the space between their faces was shrinking…

Then the doorbell rang.

The moment was suddenly a little awkward, but Sora smiled brightly before he pushed off of Riku and crept quietly out of his room to spy as his mother answered the door. Riku let out a loud sigh, running his hands through his hair before following after. What had just almost happened?

He made it out to the banister just as Aerith was opening the door.

"Leon! Jecht! What brings you here?" she asked a touch of concern in her voice. Sora and Riku looked at each other a bit startled. Leon was Aerith's brother so there was nothing odd about his presence, but Tidus' father was a police officer. Why would _he_ be there? Riku of course already knew, but he played dumb all the same.

"Good to see you Aerith," Jecht offered casually. "I'm sure that this is just a misunderstanding, but Sephiroth came down to the station a while ago with some…" he seemed to be struggling to find the right word, "interesting observations."

"Did he, now?" Aerith said, and there was no mistaking the anger and irritation in her voice. Her usually warm exterior melted away as her temper spiked. "And you actually think he might be right? That there is any validity to his claims at all?!"

"Now calm down Aerith," Jecht said raising his hands in a placating gesture as Leon made his way into the house to stand at his sister's side, offering silent support. "The accusations are pretty serious. We're just trying to make sure that Sora is safe." Sora tensed at hearing this.

"What's this got to do with me?" he whispered to Riku in alarm. Riku just hushed him as the conversation downstairs continued.

"Safe? _Safe_?! Do you honestly thing that I would ever do anything to harm my _son_?! After losing Adam, do you really think—" she broke down then, sobbing into her hands and burying her face in Leon's chest as he glared daggers at Jecht.

"That's enough," he snarled, and that in turn broke Sora from his silence. He got to his feet a little clumsily and made his way down to his mother and uncle's side.

"Mom, what's going on?! What are they talking about?!" Aerith couldn't speak; she just turned from Leon and threw her arms around Sora who held her tightly looking from Jecht to Riku in confusion. Jecht released a sigh as he raised a hand to massage the bridge of his nose.

"Your Uncle Cloud is down at your place," he said speaking to Riku. "Why don't you and Sora head there while Leon and I get her calmed a bit." Riku just nodded, looking to Sora. Sora looked very concerned, but with a final squeeze, released his mother, agreeing to leave the house with Riku. Leon placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"We'll get this straightened out," he promised. "I'll look out for your mom, so don't worry." Sora nodded once then turned to follow Riku out the door.

"What the heck is going on?" he asked the universe at large, not really expecting an answer. Imagine his surprise when Riku was able to offer one.

"My dad has a theory about why you keep getting sick," Riku replied simply. Sora froze staring at his friend in shock.

"Your dad?" he paused a moment thinking before the pieces suddenly clicked in his head. "You knew!" he accused angrily. "You knew this all along! That's why you came over!"

"My dad just told me to visit you and not let you eat anything—"

"Because he thinks my mom is _poisoning_ me?!?"

"Sora!" Riku hissed grabbing his wrist and pulling him so that they could continue to their destination. It was still broad daylight and Riku was pretty sure Sora wouldn't want the whole neighborhood hearing about this.

"He's nuts!" Sora hissed angrily. "Your dad is a complete psycho!" Riku pulled his friend into his house to find Cloud waiting for them in the entry way.

"Sora, for your sake, I hope you're right," the older teen said, closing the door behind him.

"How'd it go?" Cloud asked looking at Riku. Sephiroth must have clued him in to what was going on and what he had requested of Riku.

"No problem, food never even became an issue," he said grimly. This whole situation was just too weird. "Where's my dad?" he asked.

"Sephiroth went to the lab where he's having Aerith's soup tested," Cloud told them. "Preliminary results show nothing really amiss. Everything there is organic so it's going to take a little more time to break it down to find out exactly what's in it.

"Because you all think my mom is a nutcase who poisons her own kid for kicks?" Sora growled angrily. "I can't believe you guys are actually doing this. This is my mom we're talking about! She loves me! She would never do something like that!"

"Sora, calm down," Cloud said in a placating voice. "None of us want to believe it's possible, but we have to be sure. You both have been through something extremely traumatic. Things like this can change people. We just want to be sure."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Sora screamed tears starting to fall from his eyes. "My dad just died, Cloud! And now you guys are trying to take my mom away from me too?! I hate you! I hate you all!" With that, the small trembling brunet stormed from the room leaving Riku alone with his uncle.

"My dad better be right about this," Riku sighed walking to their couch and flopping down on it. "All of this is seriously fucked up."

Cloud, ignoring the bad language in light of its accuracy in the situation, vanished into the kitchen for a time, banging around dishes and cutlery. There was the occasional buzz of a blinder. After a short while, he reemerged holding two tall glasses of bright orange liquid.

"Cloud," Riku groaned, "I'm really not up for one of your paradise punch smoothies right now."

"Then humor me," the blond said, setting the drink on the table in front of his nephew. "Maybe I just needed to make it for you. They used to be able to fix everything that ailed you."

Riku didn't protest further, picking up the beverage and swirling the straw through it idly.

"I know this sucks," Cloud began at length, "but you realize that Seph wouldn't be doing this without good cause."

Riku sighed and set his untouched smoothie back on the table. "I know that, but I can't figure it out!" Riku dropped his face in his hands pressing his palms into his eyes as he tried to relieve the pressure headache he was getting. "I mean seriously, Uncle Cloud. How do you get from Sora's a little sick to Aerith is poisoning him?"

"I'd actually like to know that, too." Riku and Cloud looked up to find Sora standing in the doorway of the living room, eyes a little red and swollen, but otherwise calm. "Where does Sephiroth get off accusing my mom of something this crazy?"

Cloud sighed gesturing to the chair beside the couch for Sora to sit. He did so, face set in a cold mask. After a small pause where Cloud seemed to be gathering his thoughts, he set down his glass, sat back and began speaking.

"Me, Seph, Leon and Aerith go way back, you both already know this." Sora and Riku nodded. "We met in high school, Seph was picking on Aerith and Leon stepped in to defend her. I stepped in to defend my brother and…well we weren't fast friends, but we got over that eventually. Even back then, thought, Aerith was really shy…almost too quiet. We didn't think much of it at first, but we probably should have.

"Years went by and Aerith started getting sick a lot. It was nothing major at first; headaches, dizzy spells…things like that. Looking back on it…she always was worse when she was feeling really lonely." This was mumbled, almost as an afterthought.

"When it came time to go to college, we all had decided on the same school and moved away from home. Sehp was a year ahead of me and Leon, Aerith a year after. I think it was really hard for her when we all left, even though we visited all the time, that year when she was home without us changed her. We didn't notice how much so until she came to HBU with us.

In the beginning, everything seemed fine. She struggled a little, but everyone does their first few weeks of college. It didn't get better for her thought. About two months into her first semester, Aerith started getting really sick. She kept going to see doctors, but no one could figure out what was up. Her symptoms just didn't make sense. She had a lot of the same problems you've been having, Sora."

"Then that just proves that whatever is wrong with me is probably hereditary or something!" Sora snapped. "She got better didn't she?"

"Let me finish," Cloud told him darkly. There was no argument.

"It was actually Leon who started watching her more closely at first. He noticed that she would usually only get really sick around stressful times of the year, which made sense, but no one else got sick like Aerith. It was just weird. He usually went to the hospital with her when she had to go and he would tell me how she almost seemed to enjoy the time she spent there.

"He figured he was just being paranoid…and then he walked in on her, one day, downing a cup of bleach. She tried to cover it, but everything came out then." Cloud breathed a long sigh before speaking next.

"There's a psychological disorder called Munchausen's Syndrome where a person will fake illness to get attention. After a lot of evaluation, Aerith was diagnosed with it." Silence descended upon the room shivering through them like a chill wind.

"Why didn't anyone ever tell me about this?" Sora whispered, voice shaking just slightly as his eyes bore into Cloud's.

"She was better, Sora," Cloud told him, fighting to keep his own voice steady. "We got her the help she needed, and she hasn't done it since. When she met and married Adam, we thought that she might even be over the feelings of loneliness, and when she had you…we'd never seen her as happy as she was after you were born, Sora. We thought that is was all in the past."

"Then why are you doing this to her now?!" Sora was on his feet again, raging. "If what you say is true, then she would be hurting herself, not me, and I think I would notice if my mom were slipping _bleach_ into my food!"

"We have to be sure, Sora. She may not be in her right mind."

"I think _you're_ the one's not in you right minds! Why am I even here?" he asked to no one in particular. "I should have gone home as soon as you guys started ranting about this shit. I'm getting out of here."

"Sora!" Cloud called leaping up as Sora ran for the door. He needn't have bothered. As Sora flung the door open, he was greeted by a firm chest covered in a white t-shirt.

"Going somewhere?" Leon asked looking down and raising and eyebrow at his nephew.

"Uncle Leon!" Sora said, relieved to have family present. "Tell me you don't believe any of this! Tell them they're all nuts! I wanna go see mom!"

"You can see her tomorrow Sora, after the test results get in," Sora seemed to deflate at these words, Leon being his last refuge in a world that was steadily going insane. He couldn't believe any of it. Wouldn't believe it until someone gave him solid proof.

Too angry and frustrated to speak any further, Sora stomped up the stairs, fleeing to Riku's room and slamming the door behind him. The living room was left silent in his passing, Riku curled silently into his corner of the couch staring blankly ahead of him in a state of shock. He had never known his own mother as she had died in childbirth, and Aerith was the closest he had ever had. He loved her like his own, and always thought that she viewed him like a second son.

"Do you really think it's possible?" He asked the room. Leon sat down in the chair that Sora had vacated with a loud sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"I really hope to God it isn't."

-:- -:- -:-

Sora woke for school the next day alone in Riku's room. For this he was grateful as he wasn't ready to face his so called best friend just yet. Everything that had happened the day before seemed like some kind of twisted dream, and even as he sat up blinking a strange cloudiness from his vision, he hoped that maybe somehow it _had_ all been a dream and things would be back to normal when he got up.

He walked into the living room to find Riku stretched out on the couch, Cloud and Leon awake in the kitchen speaking softly. There went the dream theory…he was stuck with the shitty reality.

Still feeling more than a little upset, he stalked into the kitchen to fix himself a bowl of cereal. Riku's place was a second home to him and it was perfectly natural for him to treat the food there like his own. He sat down across from Cloud preparing to pour his cereal but paused.

"Am I allowed to eat these," he sneered moodily, "or do you think maybe the Trix rabbit has a hit out on me?" He got a pair of silent glares from the two men but was otherwise ignored. He was pouring milk over his cereal when Riku entered the room in sweats and a tank top stretching broadly. He grabbed a bowl and sat beside Sora pouring milk and cereal for himself.

Sora noticed that his friend didn't look like he'd had a very restful sleep. There were still dark circles under his slightly puffy eyes and there seemed to be permanent worry lines etched into his features. Odd for the average sixteen-year-old. Sora's heart softened slightly. He wasn't the only one who was having difficulty dealing with the situation, and really, none of it was Riku's fault. It was the grown-ups who had gone nuts.

Sora casually tossed a supposed-to-be-grape cereal piece at Riku's head effectively startling the other boy from his slightly dazed state. He glared up at Sora who offered the best he could manage along the lines of a smile. Cloud chose that moment to clear his throat and speak.

"So I think it would be best if you both stayed home from school today just to be safe." Sora felt his anger return full force.

"Just to be safe," he repeated with a growl. "Just to be safe from what? You think the lunch lady's got it in for me, too? How is me going to school even remotely dangerous?!"

"Sora—" Cloud was cut off by Leon.

"If he wants to go to school let him go to school," the older brunet said. "Who are we to keep a kid from his education?"

Realizing that he'd just talked himself out of a free day off, Sora stood to his feet more irritated than ever and went to rinse out his bowl before once again leaving the room. Maintaining his somber silence, Riku quickly followed suit leaving Cloud and Leon alone again.

"Do you really think that's such a good idea?" Cloud asked rubbing a hand roughly across his face. He hadn't slept too well the night before either.

"He's already touchy about the whole situation," Leon shrugged, "and he's right. What could happen to him at school?" Cloud sighed.

"Why do those sound like famous last words?"

-:- -:- -:-

Sora was even more irritated by the time he got to school. He'd had to stop by his house to get his books before heading out. Jecht was still there, his mother busy in the kitchen. It looked as if she were not going to work that day. Cloud and Leon had come too and of course, Riku was there since they'd be walking together. Sora had felt everyone's eyes on him as he ran over to his mother, giving her a tight hug as he told her that he didn't believe for one second that she would do anything to hurt him. Aerith looked at him with tears in her eyes and just gave him a tender kiss on the forehead before shooing him off to school.

Everyone else had been watching like she would pull a butcher knife on him or something.

Even more irritating was the weirdness that had been going on with his eyes since he'd woken up. There was this odd haziness to his vision that he just couldn't seem to blink away. He didn't think much of it, figuring it would dissipate sometime during the day, but it didn't help his mood any.

And then, of course, there were his friends. They all knew him well enough to know that he was really upset about something. He was eternally grateful when Riku chose to break his silence and come up with convincing stories about why Sora was so pissy. Sora wasn't really sure what the story was, but it seemed to work for most everyone as they finally left him alone.

Everyone but Kairi that is.

"So what's really going on?" She asked as they walked together during their Nutrition break.

"Seriously, Kai," Sora said blinking his eyes rapidly. The weird cloudiness was back and seemed to be getting worse. "I really don't feel like getting into it. It'll all be straightened out by the end of the day, but if you really want to know, you can ask Riku." He paused, swaying as his vision went double for a moment and his balance did a weird little flip.

"I think I will," Kairi said watching the crowd ahead of them and not Sora. "I think I see his hair heading this way." She smiled over at Sora expecting him to share the small joke with her only to realize that he wasn't really paying attention. "Sora?" she asked, an edge of concern coloring her voice. Sora's only response was to stumble over to a wall and lean heavily against it.

It was almost routine by now. Sora slowly slid himself to the ground as he felt hands grab on to him and someone call out for the school nurse. It was Kairi beside him this time, but shortly after, he heard Riku's voice joining hers as they both tried to make sure he was okay.

"What's hurting, Sora?" Riku asked tensely, crouching low next to him. Sora managed to open his eyes and look up at his friend with still blurring vision and he quickly squeezed them shut again.

"Head," he said, finding speech far more difficult than it should have been. "And eyes. Everything…blurry." He gasped out slightly as his muscles seemed to give out on him completely and he fell, bonelessly, against the wall. "hurts…" he hissed as a familiar wave of nausea washed over him.

"Sora," Riku said suddenly very serious. He leaned in closer so that the next question would just be between the two of them. "Before I came over yesterday, did you eat or drink anything given to you by your mother?"

Sora tried to be angry at the question. Now even Riku was accusing his mom of being crazy, but he was feeling more and more ill by the moment and couldn't gather the will to get to full out rage. Instead he thought back to the previous day.

"Juice," he whispered, cringing as pain shot through his abdomen. "Just juice."

Riku swore violently as the nurse arrived shoving through the crowd of students that had formed, including several of their other friends. She knelt down checking Sora's forehead for fever before bending over to question him. He seemed to be having even more trouble stringing words together as time went on. Riku told her what little he'd managed to get out of Sora and also pulled her aside to let her know there could be foreign toxins involved. She looked at him oddly for a moment before thanking him and calling for a teacher to call an ambulance. Riku showed her his cell phone stating without words that he had it covered and quickly dialed 911.

"Riku, what the hell is going on?" Kairi asked quirtly from his side as he waited listening for an operator to pick up.

"Something bad," he told her looking down at a sluggish and trembling Sora, who was now being supported by a worried Roxas, as the nurse checked his pupils and pulse. "Something really bad."


End file.
